National Coal Mining Museum of England

The National Coal Mining Museum is on the site of Caphouse Colliery (the name for the mine and associated buildings) which was worked from the 1700s until it closed in 1985. It reopened as a museum in 1988, to tell the story of coal mining in England, which actually began as surface mining in the 1400s.

We went down the 460 ft. mineshaft the underground tour. It was very sobering to hear of the difficult working conditions that whole families experienced during 1800s. Men would do the mining, often while kneeling or side-lying. Women and older children would pull and push the carts of coal. When they signaled, young children waiting in the dark outside the trap door would open the door to allow the cart to be pushed through into the larger tunnel.

In 1842, Parliament passed a law against underground work for boys under age 10 and women of any age. After the law was passed, ponies and horses were used for that work.Read more